Chance

by Deborah Bladon

  "You're Dr. Ben Foster," I feel the need to correct him. "You're the founder of the Foster Foundation."

  His eyes float towards a beautiful woman standing next to the bar. "My brother, Noah and I are co-founders and my wife, Kayla, she's the brains behind it all."

  I know without having to ask that the woman at the bar is Kayla. I can sense it just from the way he looks at her. "I've heard a lot about the Foundation. I think it's an amazing endeavor."

  "It's something we started for our mother." His eyes dart to the floor for a brief moment. "She died when we were teenagers. We wanted to help others in her name."

  I stare at him as he speaks, noting how much he looks like Caleb, Gabriel and Asher. It's obvious that they all come from the same gene pool. It's not just the familiarity of his smile that I recognize but it's the strength in his brow and the shape of his nose.

  "Corteck is donating some software for us tonight. You're a part of that, aren't you?"'

  I quickly scan the room for Caleb. I want to be able to introduce myself as his girlfriend although we've never established that's who I am to him. My eyes roll past Ben's head to a clock on the wall of the hotel's dining room. He's late. He told me he'd meet me here at six. It's almost seven and there's no sign of him.

  "My boss, Clive Parker, is here to make the presentation. He said you're friends with his wife."

  "Lilly." There's a lilt in his voice as he says her name. "We’re close friends. You know her, don't you?"

  I nod absentmindedly. "I should check in with Clive to make sure everything is set. You'll excuse me?"

  "Of course," he says politely.

  I look up into his face before I walk away. He's handsome in a way that is different than Caleb. He's more refined and polished. He's kind and as his eyes wander back to his wife, I watch the brilliant smile that consumes her face at the sight of him. That's what I want with Caleb. It's exactly what I've always wanted.

  ***

  "Rowan, has Caleb talked to you about the new lingerie boutiques we're opening?"

  This is it. This is the pitch I knew was coming.

  "Lingerie?" Noah Foster appears next to where Gabriel and I are standing. "My wife told me about this. You're opening lingerie stores now, Gabriel?"

  I highly doubt that Noah Foster remembers the brief conversation I had with him years ago at one of his photography shows. At that time, he was selling his pieces for a steep price and women were lining up to be one of his models.

  I don't know anyone who posed for him, but I had heard the rumors. There was a contract and the rules were strict. No clothing allowed at all when he had his camera out and that worked both ways. Apparently he worked in the nude.

  He smiles down at me and I instantly notice the scar that is now a permanent part of his cheek. I'd asked Asher about it after I met Noah the first time. He'd been stabbed and although he had the resources to seek the most skilled plastic surgeon in the world, he had made a conscious decision to not have his face repaired. It doesn't impact how attractive he is at all. He's hot and when I met him years ago, I made certain to tell Gabriel and Caleb how incredibly handsome I thought Noah was. They'd teased me about it on and off for years.

  "You're Rowan Bell, aren't you?" Noah waves his finger in front of my nose. "You and I spoke a number of years ago. I think it was at a gallery."

  No way. There's no way he can remember that.

  "We did," I say suspiciously. I'm not memorable. It's not that I view myself as not being special; it's more that I'm realistic. He has to meet dozens of people on any given day. It's hard for me to imagine that he'd be impacted enough by our brief conversation that he'd remember me. "How can you possibly remember that?"

  "You're Caleb's friend." He glances briefly at Gabriel. "He told me all about you a few weeks after that show and I recognized the name."

  "Caleb talked about me?" I shouldn't sound as shocked as I do. I entered the doors of this event as a sophisticated, representative of Corteck. I now sound like a giddy school girl who just realized the boy who sits next to her in Algebra class likes her.

  "No," he says quickly with a glint in his eyes. "Caleb talks about you. Every time I see him he talks about you. Rowan graduated with honors. Rowan got a promotion. Rowan is beautiful. It's all Rowan, all the time."

  I look up and past his face to quiet my heart. "Caleb and I have been friends for a long time."

  "Since you were born." Noah taps my shoulder. "I may know more about you than your own mother does."

  I blush at the suggestion. "I had no idea."

  He touches my forearm. "My cousin may be mildly obsessed with you. I'd keep an eye on him, if I were you."

  I nod as I hear Gabriel's voice interject. "I was just about to offer Rowan a job with the new lingerie division. We should talk about us contracting you to take the photographs for the website and catalogues, Noah."

  I know Noah responds, but I can't make out anything he says. The only thing I can focus on is Caleb's smiling face across the room.

  Chapter 50

  "I just want to kiss you once." He brushes his soft, lush lips over mine. "You're wearing one of our dresses."

  I pull back to look at him closely. The sight of him in a tuxedo takes my breath away. "I wanted you to see me in one. I don't normally wear your clothes."

  "Just my stolen sweatshirts." His voice tightens. "I'm sorry I'm late. I had something I needed to take care of before I got here. "

  I want to ask what it is but I know that if it concerned us he'd tell me. I don't want to worry over every small thing that pops up in his life. He made a promise to me that we'd take care of one another and I'm choosing to believe that he'll honor that.

  "We should go back out there," I point towards the now crowded ballroom of the hotel. "Clive is going to make a presentation before dinner and I need to be there to support him."

  "I understand," he says brusquely. "I'll let you lead the way."

  I study his features for a minute, trying to find some clue about what he's feeling. He hadn't shared more than two words with Asher when he walked right past him on his way towards me when he first arrived. When Gabriel approached him, his hand had darted in the air to silence him.

  "You're okay?" I reach up to pull a stray piece of lint from the shoulder of his jacket. "Is there something bothering you?"

  "I'm good, Rowan." He leans back, his jaw tightening with the movement. "I was just in a rush to get here."

  Nervousness pulls at my muscles and I instantly feel my back tense. "I'll go find Clive now. We'll talk in a few minutes, okay?"

  "I'll be at the table." He skims his lips across my cheek in a gesture that mimics a kiss. "You know where you can find me."

  ***

  The evening had been magical and perfect save for the fact that Caleb had spent most of it talking in the corner on his cell phone. When it came time to introduce me to Noah's wife, Alexa, he had stood silent waiting for me to offer up a connection that brought me to the ballroom. I'd fallen back on my work with Corteck and she had squealed in delight at both the software contribution and the monetary gift that Clive had given tonight.

  Now, we're in the back seat of the car while I stare out the window at the traffic flying past us while he makes yet another call.

  "I told you that's not going to work for me." Caleb's hand balls into a firm fist on his thigh. "I didn't approve that and unless it's changed by the time I get to the office tomorrow, people are going to be fired."

  It's harsh and in the corporate world that we're both a part of, it's sometimes necessary. I keep my eyes focused on the window, catching Caleb's reflection whenever he leans forward and into my view.

  "I want to stay at your apartment tonight." He grabs my hand and pulls it to his lips. "I need to be with you."

  "We can stay there," I whisper as I turn to look at him. His jaw is tense and his brow is fraught. "You can stay with me whenever you want."

  His eyes fall to the necklace around my neck.
"That's beautiful. Where did it come from?"

  "My friend, Ivy, made it for me." I twist the thin chain in my fingers. "She's a jewelry designer."

  "Ivy Marlow?"

  "Yes," I answer excitedly. "You know her?"

  He shakes his head from side-to-side. "I've heard of her. Her pieces are beautiful. That one is especially exquisite. Maybe I can buy you something for your birthday from her studio. Or she can design something just for you."

  I take comfort in the promise that he's already planning my birthday gift. It's not for another two months. "Anything you get me will be perfect."

  "Nothing will ever be as perfect as the gift you've given me." He rests my hand against his lips as he pulls me closer.

  I curve the side of my body into his. "I don't remember the last gift I ever gave to you, Caleb."

  "You gave yourself to me." He wraps his arms around me. "That's the greatest gift I'll ever receive."

  Chapter 51

  "Rowan, wake up." I feel the brush of a hand against my shoulder. "Wake up."

  I murmur into my pillow as I bury my face deeper beneath the blankets. I'm exhausted. After we'd gotten back to the apartment, Caleb had undressed me slowly before he eaten me until I pushed his mouth away. I was so tender and swollen but when he pulled his muscular body over mine, I'd begged him to fuck me.

  He had. It was slow, delicious and achingly tender. He'd kissed me with a promise that I'd never felt before and when we both finally came again, he'd whispered something softly in my ear. The words were so vague that I strained to hear but before I could ask him to repeat it, I'd heard the sound of his breathing slowing. He'd fallen asleep instantly and here, in my room, in my bed; I'd curled my body next to his and had drifted off, wrapped snugly in his arms.

  "I need you to wake up." His voice is more persistent now. There's a definite urgency woven into the tone. "Please wake up."

  I roll over, my eyes fluttering open slowly. The room is still dark and as I reach to the bedside table to find my phone, something falls onto the floor. I hear the faint sound of it hitting the cork floor boards. "What time is it?"

  "I don't know." He fumbles with the small lamp that is next to the bed. The bulb is so dim that the light that does fill the space is muted and calming. "It doesn't matter."

  That's easy for him to say. He's the boss where he works. He runs the entire show. I, on the other hand, have to answer to Clive Parker. I know I could wander in hours late and my job would still be secure, but I don't want to take advantage of something I value so much. "I'm tired, Caleb. I need to sleep."

  "I love you."

  I blink twice. That's not what he said. "What did you say?"

  "I love you."

  As a friend, Rowan. He forgot that part.

  "Caleb." I feel a shiver run through me when he sits next to me. "You know that I love you too."

  He turns his head to look down at me. "Do you love me the same way I love you?"

  I need to sit up. I have to gain some form of perspective in order to have this conversation. I try to scramble my legs up the bed but I falter. I kick without gaining any traction. He does nothing but sit in place and stare at my face.

  "Help me." I reach for his arm for leverage and he bends it. I grab hold of his large bicep and use it to help pull me far enough up the bed that I can finally sit and look at him.

  He brushes his hand over my forehead. "You're more beautiful every time I see you."

  I push the hairs that have stuck to the side of my face when I was sleeping aside. "I'm must be a mess. I was fast asleep."

  "I should have told Asher to bring you to quad that day." He presses his lips to my forehead. "I knew it then. I knew Tom was all wrong for you."

  I don't mind being woken from a deep sleep if an actual emergency exists. Talking about a man I don't think about anymore, doesn't qualify as important enough to warrant any extra attention. "I don't want to talk about him. That's been over for so long."

  "I bought you something." He pushes his bare ass off the bed and leans down to pick up something from the floor. "I wanted to give it to you that day during your senior year."

  I dip my chin down to try and get a glimpse of what's hidden within his fist, but I don't see a thing. "What is it?"

  He uses his free hand to pull on my arm, motioning for me to sit in his lap. I do. I crawl into it, nuzzling my face into his neck.

  "I wasted most of my life, Bell." His chest heaves as he works to catch his breath. "I kept thinking that I had to give up my love for you to have you as my friend."

  I look up into his face. "We can be both."

  "I was terrified when you loved Tom." He traces a path across my shoulder with his fingers. "I thought we'd never have a chance."

  "We have a chance now."

  "For so long I've believed that I needed to stay out of the way so you could find a man who would love you the way you deserved to be loved." He rests his chin against my cheek. "I didn't think you wanted me the same way I wanted you."

  "I know." I sweep my fingers over his forehead. "I know that you didn't think that."

  "Do you remember when you were a teenager and you had that crush on Ian?

  I laugh against into his cheek. "I never had a crush on Ian."

  "You did." He pulls me closer to him. "I wanted to kill him. I was so fucking jealous. I saw the way you looked at him and I wanted you to look at me like that."

  I breathe in the scent of his skin. "I did look at you like that. I've always looked at you like that."

  "When you left the house a few weeks ago," he begins before he stops to kiss my cheek. "When you left the Hamptons house I ran into that bastard."

  I tap him playfully on the shoulder. "He's not a bastard."

  "He told me he saw you drinking wine in the garden," he whispers into the stillness of the room. "He told me that I was a fool for not telling you how I felt."

  "You told me now."

  "I don’t want to mess this up, Bell." His lips trail over my chin. "I won't mess this up. I can't live without you now. I won't be able to breathe if we're not us anymore."

  I cradle his cheek in my hand as I stare into his eyes. "We won't mess this up. I can't live without you either."

  Chapter 52

  "Open it."

  I stare down at the small circular box he's placed on my bare thigh.

  "I want you to open it. I've had it in my apartment all these years."

  "You had this in your apartment?" I push at the edge of it.

  He nods." That's why I was so late tonight. I had to find it. Once I did I just sat with it. It brought back so many memories."

  "What do you mean?" I ask as much to understand as to bide time so I can catch my breath.

  "Just open it, Bell. I've been waiting to give it to you for so long."

  "You were going to give this to me that day? During semester break?" I can't take my eyes off of the box.

  "I bought this to give to you a very long time ago." He edges the box forward with his thumb. "I hoped that one day I could give it to you."

  I hesitate before I reach down to scoop it into my hand. "What is it?"

  He swallows hard before he covers my hand with his. "It's something you wanted. You showed it to Asher at that antique shop in South Hampton. My mom took us do the restaurant next door to it for lunch every Thursday and each time, you and Asher would go in the shop to look at it."

  I pull my hands to my stomach. "Caleb. No."

  "I drove Asher back to the shop one Friday afternoon and he showed it to me." He cups my chin in his hand so our eyes meet. "I bought it on the spot. I've had it since that day."

  I know what it is. I already know what it is, but I tentatively pick up the box and carefully open the lid. It's there, just as I remember it. A small silver ring set with one pink pearl. "I remember this."

  "You couldn't take your eyes off of it and you couldn't afford to buy it."

  "It was really expensive." I try to recall the price
and since I was only fourteen or fifteen at the time, I can't.

  "It was eighty nine dollars," he says softly. "I bought it, put it in my pocket and when I got back to the house I thought about giving it to you, but the timing wasn't right."

  "It wasn't?"

  "I was twenty then, Bell."

  "I wasn't." I smile.

  "It's your ring now." He pulls it gently from the box. "It's a promise that I'll protect you. It's a sign of my need to love you and it's a symbol of everything we mean to each other."

  "I love it." I slip it on the ring finger of my right hand. "I'll wear it here for now."

  "You'll wear it on whatever finger you want." He pulls my left hand into his and brings it to his lips. "This finger here is reserved for me too."

  I kiss his lips knowing that it's a promise that we're making today but it's a reality that has existed between the two of us for the past twenty-five years.

  Chapter 53

  Two Months Later

  "I seriously can't believe you're doing this." Caleb pushes the paper on his desk back towards me. "You're going to turn that down."

  I glance at the number he'd written down again. "I'm not interested."

  "I've told you what a fucked up mess Loire is right now, right?" He rakes his hand through his hair. "Gabriel can't get a handle on it and Asher left for San Francisco this morning?"

  "He left?" I pretend I hear nothing but that. "Was he excited to go?"

  He growls as he turns the paper around and scribbles down another number. "What about this? This has to be enough."

  "Nope." I lean back in the chair and cross my legs. "You would get a lot more done if you worked in your actual office instead of here."

  "Until an hour ago I was fucking my girlfriend in the bedroom down the hall." He points the pen in the direction of the hallway. "The woman is completely insatiable. She can't get enough of me."